Newcastle United vs Sunderland Premier League preview, team news and prediction

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Tyne and Wear comes to a standstill at noon on Sunday as Newcastle United and Sunderland face off in a highly anticipated Tyne-Wear derby in the Premier League.

Newcastle return to St James’ Park looking to bounce back from a bruising midweek, while Sunderland have also struggled for form recently.

Back-to-back Premier League wins have been rare for Newcastle in a turbulent 2025-26 campaign, achieved only three times so far—most recently in their last two league outings. Eddie Howe’s side claimed impressive victories over Manchester United and Chelsea, results that would have seemed unlikely for Magpies fans just a few years ago.

Those wins have propelled Newcastle into the top half of the table, and they now aim to match their best winning streak of the season—three consecutive league victories achieved between December and January. However, their Champions League hopes ended in midweek with a heavy 7-2 defeat to Barcelona at Camp Nou, a result that saw them exit at the last-16 stage. Despite the loss, Anthony Elanga’s brace extended Newcastle’s scoring streak to 15 matches in all competitions.

Sunderland, meanwhile, have seen their early-season European ambitions fade after back-to-back goalless outings in the FA Cup and Premier League. Their dream of a second consecutive trip to Wembley ended with a 1-0 FA Cup defeat at Port Vale, followed by a narrow league loss to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Despite sitting 13th in the table, Sunderland remain just five points behind seventh-placed Brentford, keeping hopes of European qualification alive. The Black Cats have only one win from their last six league matches, but that came in their most recent away trip to Leeds United. A win at St James’ Park would see Sunderland claim consecutive Premier League away victories with clean sheets for the first time this century.

Sunderland fans will fondly recall December’s 1-0 home win over Newcastle. The Magpies are now winless in their last 10 Tyne-Wear league derbies—a record unbeaten run for either side in this historic rivalry is on the line this weekend.

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Newcastle’s defeat to Barcelona was compounded by injury concerns, as influential midfielder Sandro Tonali was forced off early in the second half with a groin problem. While the issue is not thought to be serious, manager Eddie Howe remained non-committal about Tonali’s availability for the derby.

Howe had already confirmed that Lewis Miley would miss the Tyne-Wear clash prior to the trip to Spain. Emil Krafth (knee), Fabian Schar (ankle), and Bruno Guimaraes (thigh) are also sidelined until after the international break.

After becoming just the second Premier League player to score a Champions League brace away to Barcelona—following Dwight Yorke in 1998—Anthony Elanga is expected to retain his place in the starting lineup. Meanwhile, Sven Botman and Tino Livramento are likely to return to the defense as part of a reshuffle.

On the Sunderland side, manager Regis Le Bris kept team news under wraps in his press conference, except to confirm that left-back Reinildo Mandava is available again after recovering from a knee injury.

Several players—Wilson Isidor (unspecified), Dan Ballard (hamstring), Enzo Le Fee (unspecified), Robin Roefs (thigh), and Nordi Mukiele (calf)—will face late fitness tests. Jocelin Ta Bi (ankle), Nilson Angulo (unspecified), Romaine Mundle (hamstring), and Bertrand Traore (knee) remain unavailable.

Le Bris previously expressed hope that Le Fee would be fit for the derby. If he is not, 18-year-old Chris Rigg—who recently had a goal disallowed—could be in line for a starting role.

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